Jericho
by CrazyLittleKookoo
Summary: Jericho may be slightly different to some New Species, but Tia Woodward is very different to your average human woman. Chance brings them together, and danger brings them closer still. Yet when the dangers come from everywhere how will they survive? Friends old and new, enemies old and new...Tia's world has been turned upside down. The only person she can cling to is Jericho.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- I do not own any of the characters other than the ones who I have created for the basis of being used with Laurann Dohners characters. I own nothing, I am simply adding my own version to the brilliant New Species series. If you have not read it, I highly suggest you go do. This is the DISCLAIMER for the entire story.

**JERICHO**

**PROLOGUE**

Jericho shook his head at Slash. "I see no reason why I need to come with you?"

"Because it's easier with two of us there just in case she turns out to be a psycho who wants to kill us. Besides with your unique eyes all you have to do is glare and do that strange growl of yours and she'll stop dead in her tracks."

Jericho's eyes narrowed as he folded his arms, he knew his eyes were unusual to other Species and most avoided looking at him for that reason. Some had even said they were freaky with their red glow to them.

"If she is suspected of being one of those humans who wish us harm then why are we allowing her onto Reservation? Keep her out and you don't need me or my eyes."

"Awww chill Jericho, I was only teasing you. She's not a psycho, it was a joke. We checked her out and did a full background check, she's one of the park reserve rangers around her, she has some young wild animals that need rehoming and Risk said he might have a place for them with some of the wolves. He's running late though so I need someone else with me. Besides didn't you say you needed to interact with others more?" Slash pointed out rather overly cheerfully.

Jericho sighed. "Fine, but I don't like being around humans, I frighten them too easily."

Slash chuckled. "Try smiling more."

Jericho shook his head, he couldn't wait for this to be over with, the human could just come and leave and that would be it. How much trouble could one human female be anyway?

**CHAPTER 1**

Tia fidgeted standing by the van she had driven up to the compound. She was nervous and it showed in her shaking hands. Why this would work without a hitch, I had no idea. She thought. She took a deep breath and reminded herself why she was doing what she was.

"Nothing deserves to be caged, everything deserves to live free of fear." She recited to herself, something her best friend Terra had taught to her a long time ago. She smiled, confident this was the right thing.

Footsteps coming from the side of the building had her turning rather suddenly, she exhaled slowly, shocked at the man that approached. It was true, the New Species looked completely different to the rest of the world. As though they hadn't endured enough there were bigots and idiots in this world who thought they deserved to be put down like a lame horse. It made her blood boil.

The man wore the uniform she had seen the same men at the gates to Reservation wear, simple black fatigues, and a military vest over a black tshirt with the letters NSO printed in white in the top corner. Her wide gaze trailed up to his face, this was the first time she'd had a proper close look at one of their faces, all she had seen were glimpses from afar, or quick flashes as they had processed her at the gates. Not even the ones on the television had shown just how much of a difference they were to the normal human me. The cheekbones were more defined, the nose slightly flatter, the eyes more predatory as though they were hunting. And the size of them! Tia shook her head, unbelievable they're like giants compared to me, I felt short enough at 5"1'. She silently grossed to herself.

"You are Miss Woodward?" His voice seemed to deep to be normal too, almost like he partially growled his words.

Tia nodded and offered her ID badge to the New Species. "Yes my name is Tia Woodward, I was the one who called up. It's nice to meet you."

The New Species glanced at the badge before handing it back with a smile. His brown hair brushed up off his face with a motion of his hand.

"Hello, my name is Slash. You said you had five was it?"

She smiled a huge grin. "Yes five, I found them when I was patrolling the reserve and found evidence of hunters tracking, I know you normally take in full grown ones, but….. all the other welfares are too overloaded and you were the nearest here. I thought maybe you could get one of the packs to adopt them possibly. I just, they deserve a fighting chance and I refuse to give up on them."

She paused realising she was speaking rather passionately, it was just so hard sometimes, when she felt a fire in her heart for something she couldn't tamp down her reactions.

Slash smiled at her. "We will see what we can do miss. Jericho, can you call for Risk to come down here, he's worked with the animals we've taken in so his opinion on this would be best. Miss would you mind opening the van so we can see please?"

Even as she walked to the back of the van her gaze trailed to the other New Species she had failed to notice, Jericho was his name. He had been stood so still that now she only realised he was there because Slash had mentioned his name and he moved to pull out a cell phone to talk to Risk supposedly. She found it odd though that Jericho stood the furthest away, his head constantly ducked so he didn't make any eye contact with her. Maybe he didn't like humans. She knew and understood a lot of them didn't like humans after they had been held captive by Mercile Industries. Mercile had been run by humans who had created, then abused, experimented and killed New Species. Yes, it was understandable why some may still hold a grudge.

She offered a smile at Jericho regardless as she unlatched the back doors to the van she had driven up to Reservation, the walled off complex that was one of the homes to the New Species. People spouted nonsense that they were freaks and the devils advocate, yet how could they be so evil when they offered sanctuary to animals that had nowhere else to go? She knew they had a large plot of land that had a deep forest, they housed packs of wolves and lions and bears that were rescued from stupid rich men who thought they could own a predator. If anyone understood how to handle and rehome abused and confused animals, it was the New Species.

Tia she grinned as she gripped the side of the van door and pulled herself into the back, she crawled till she was kneeling by the large cage she had secured to the van floor. The slight whines of the wolf puppies drawing her attention. She started working on unbuckling the latches.

"Don't worry little guys, I told you I'd find you somewhere safe to go and this might just be it."

As she worked one of her hands threaded fingers through the cage to hold it steady, the puppies brushed against her and licked her fingers. A few days with her and they had already started forming a bond with her, animals or no, they knew she was the one helping.

"Here, allow me to help." Slash said as he reached down and picked up the cage once she had undone the last buckle. Gently he placed it on the ground outside the van and bent to peer at the squirming puppies. "They seem pretty young."

She nodded hopping out of the back of the van. "They are, by my guess they're around five weeks old, in great condition and health though. I was patrolling like I said, but once I found where the hunters had been they'd already killed the pack, they missed the pups, I found them scattered around. I've had them for about four days while I've been looking for a home for them. But the animal sanctuaries are full, there's no nursing mothers who could adopt them and so young they need a lot of care."

Slash glanced at her. "You've been caring for them yourself?"

She shrugged. "Yeah it's been hard, but I know what I'm doing. I have a wolf-dog who was given to me by a friend when she was young, I raised her and she's been watching the pups while I've been at work for a few hours. But they've still chewed up most of my home, and my dog cant nurse them, she's pretty tame for the most part and these need to be pure wild."

"They do look in good health and seem to be excited." Another voice said.

Tia spun and gasped, another New Species had snuck up on her, maybe they had been created with a stealth gene that made them make no noise when they move. The species smiled at her.

"Hello, my name is Risk. We spoke on the phone. You are in luck, one of the wolf packs we have recently had pups, I'm certain they would adopt these into their pack."

Tia bit her lip hesitating. "You're sure they wont simply kill them?"

Risk shook his head, making deep brown hair fall over his shoulders, his green eyes shining at her. "No, I will introduce them slowly, I have an affinity with the wolves, I'll take care of them."

She sighed in relief. "Thank you so much, it's good to hear that. If it's not too much trouble, can you keep me posted on their progress? I'd like to know how they're doing till they're fully settled in with the pack."

Risk nodded. "Of course, Slash and I will take the pups to start settling them, Jericho will escort you to the office to finish the forms on the handing over of these wolf pups. If you leave your address or email, I'll make sure your updated till they are fully integrated."

Tia nodded enthusiastically, grinning madly. "Thank you so much I appreciate it."

Slash easily lifted the cage full of puppies without any effort, Risk opened the door of the building she had parked next to and they disappeared inside. Now she was alone, with the Species who may or may not like humans. Oh…she had forgot that.

Still, she turned to Jericho with a huge smile. "Jericho wasn't it, hi there, my names Tia Woodward, call me Tia please." She said offering her hand to be shaken, a habit out of her nervousness, bringing back the polite proper manners she had been raised with.

She felt Jericho's gaze boring into her offered hand, his head still down unable to see his eyes. She chewed her lip debating pulling her hand back or leaving it out in the open, maybe Species didn't shake, maybe he didn't want to touch her because she was human. What should she do?

Slowly, almost as though not to scare he stepped forward and delicately took her hand and shook it, his gaze rising to hers. "Hello Tia, my name is Jericho as you know. Is this right? I am trying to learn your human customs."

Her eyes widened slightly as they made eye contact. "Yes that's right, we shake hands and introduce ourselves by name as a greeting. My god, your eyes are beautiful." She blurted, then as a reaction pulled her hand free and slapped it over her mouth. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to blurt that out loud, its just they're an unusual colour, they're fascinating, a brown but with a tint of red, like an autumn leave caught in the sunlight. I don't mean to offend you, oh and I know I'm talking to much again. I'm so sorry Mr. Jericho."

She waited for his disgust at her verbal outburst, but instead his lips twitched slightly. Fully out of the shadows and standing closer she could see him properly, though his eyes were impressive so was the rest of him, he was actually nearly bigger than Risk and Slash had been, definitely more muscular, and his features weren't as defined, subtler cheekbones and rounder eyes but still a flatter than most nose. Maybe he was a different kind of New Species.

"It's okay, I'm glad you aren't scared, most don't like looking at my eyes. If you are scared at any time know there is no reason to fear me. And just Jericho will do please."

She started to slowly relax. "Thank you, shall we go sign those papers or do I need to move my van from here?"

Jericho held out his hand. "Hand me the keys and I will have your van moved to the front gates for you, after you have signed the papers I will escort you to it."

Without hesitation she handed over the keys. She had complete faith and trust in the New Species.

As they walked to one of the more lit up pathways she glanced around. She knew this had once been a hotel before the property and land around it had been bought by the NSO, it had been renovated for them and it looked amazing. The pathways were neatly laid, the greenery trimmed and the buildings looked pristine. Though she did wonder where everyone was, there was no one else as they walked under the lights that lit the darkness. Were they all in bed? Did they stay in doors? Was she really all alone with Jericho?

She glanced at the tall Species next to her, he was very handsome, the differences to human men were appealing to her. She had heard the stories of how some human women had fallen in love and mated? Married? Some Species men. She could never understand how those things came about though, even if she was a sucker for romance she was happy they were fitting into the world. Forging a life for themselves.

"So you are one of the rangers then?"

She glanced at Jericho not expecting the question. "Yes, I'm one of the reserve rangers, it's the only job I've ever wanted. When I was little me and my friends Kaya and Piper would always camp in the woods and bring home sick animals to nurse to health. It just seemed to be the natural job I'd go for."

Jericho's features tightened slightly as he listened to her answer. "I heard that a job as a ranger can be dangerous, not all poachers or hunters are friendly. They can be dangerous and you are small for a female."

He didn't say the words nastily but it still made her blood boil, she knew she was smaller than most, but it didn't mean she was helpless. "I know, I've come across poachers who decided to shoot at me instead of the wolves because they didn't want to get arrested, but I always call for back up and I know how to protect myself. Kaya works in the military and she took it upon herself to teach us self defence and how to shoot. Sometimes you can get hurt but that's part of the job. I wont stop doing what I love or what is right because I'm small, a female or because there's a bit of risk."

Whilst she had been talking they had stopped walking and she had actually taken a step closer to him, her hands firmly planted on her hips as she stared up at him.

His nose flared slightly and she saw his throat work. Suddenly that annoyance she had been feeling shifted at what shouldn't have been a sexy gesture, but arousal slowly started to curl through her. Hell she was only a woman after all and he was one big hunk of hot on legs.

"I have angered you, I didn't mean for that. We protect our females from harm or danger, I find odd that your males would allow a delicate female like you to do such a task when they should do it themselves."

She dropped her hands off her hips. "Sometimes I'd agree, I do need a bit of help and it would be great if more men became rangers and helped to patrol the reserves, but I guess they don't all have your sense of chivalry."

He frowned slightly after another obvious deep inhale and took a step back away from her. He rubbed his nose and took a few deep breaths from his mouth.

Rather unsubtly she lifted her shirt collar and sniffed, twisting her head from side to side. "I'm sorry do I smell? I was at work today and didn't get a chance to grab a shower before I brought the wolf puppies here, I know you have a strong sense of smell, do I smell really bad?"

Jericho shook his head. "No, you actually smell quite nice, its not good for Species to be very close to humans when you smell of nice things, it can be…..distracting."

She slowly absorbed that information, well I guess if I could smell peoples BO from a bit of a distance I'd find it rather distracting too. She thought to herself.

"Oh okay then, lets carry on then, the night getting on and I have work in the morning." She said following as this time he walked in front of her, leading the way to the office building.

She wasn't going to complain, not when with every step his fatigues moulded to a very fine behind. A feminine shiver ran over her and she felt an awareness tingle over her body. If he could smell her body odour could he smell the lust starting to curl through her stomach? Nah, course not, any man would have pointed it out straightaway in the hopes of getting lucky. Besides, she'd had enough trouble with men in her life, she didn't need anymore, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the view.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: Hi guys sorry I haven't updated in a while just been doing so much work but I have good news! This story is going to be part of a series, there will be three linked together, though I will be writing them at the same time and they can be read separately. But for the record I'll say this is book 1. Enjoy.**

**CHAPTER 2**

Tia sighed as she walked into her small cabin and kicked her muddy hiking boots off. A loud bark had her crouching down with a smile as a huge black and white wolf-dog barrelled into her, knocking her to the floor as the animal licked her face.

"Oh Rain, you really don't know what a dreadful day I've had." She pushed the dog off her and pushed up to sit cross legged in the hallway. "First I had some snooty reporter bugging me at the office wanting to know about my trip to the New Species, I don't know how they found out I dropped the wolves there but I bet somebody in the office has loose lips and fuller pockets. Then I had to spend a couple of hours clearing the trees that fell down on the South track road and then I spent the rest of my afternoon looking for some teenagers who got lost cause they wanted to go through the forest and decided they didn't even need a map or compass. I mean they're teenagers, couldn't they have even gotten a GPS thingie on their phone? And they could have quit whining when I found them and led them back to the ranger hut. All I had were moans and groans, when I was the one who tracked through the forest for them and didn't even get a thank you!"

She paused and glanced at Rain who was blinking up at her. "Man if only you could talk huh girl? You'd tell me to shut up and nut up just like Terra wouldn't you? As well as to get a man."

She flopped back to the floor while Rain nudged her. "Boy, you should have seen this guy at Reservation Rain, he was a total hottie hunk, but I doubt I'll ever see him again. He had a body that the few guys I've dated had only ever dreamed of, and his eyes….. it reminded me of autumn leaves, burnished in the sun." She shook her head and laughed. "Man I do sound like a poet, I blame Piper and Terra for not being around, they're my best friends and I could do with some girl talk."

She frowned as she thought about her friends. Terra worked in a team that held a military contract, as one of her best friends since they were kids, she knew all her secrets. Terra had the attitude that would kick your ass now and then beat the truth out of whoever later on. She had taught Tia self defence after a dreadful mugging had left her fearful of the world. But the last time she had spoken to Terra had been months ago.

"Lord knows where that girl is now, probably half way around the world taking down a drug cartel. Fearless and stupidity rolled into a flaming package." She mumbled fondly as she hung up her coat that had a few drops of snow clinging to it and stomped in thick socks to her kitchen.

She bent down and grabbed the lid off a cooler she kept near the sink. "So dinner time right girl? You're in luck that the butcher gives me such good deals, you get so much better than that mushy canned food." She rambled on taking a chunk of a cows leg that she had been given for scraps, after checking it was still good she put it in Rain's bowl and watched her happily start chomping on it.

"I get a few strange looks when I walk out with your food you know, people think I'm feeding the bears or something." She smirked hearing nothing but happy growls as she washed her hands. "Well if you're going to have a wolf dog you might as well feed it like a wolf."

She went to her own fridge and peered in at the few items left in there. "Well the cheese isn't walking yet, cheese with pasta it is."

As she put the pasta on to boil she went and had a shower, quick as usual and hustled into her joggers and a large football shirt she had swiped off her brother years ago and was still as comfy as sin. She cursed as her feet hit the cold wood floors in her house and went into the living room to light a fire.

With the basics of her every day life done she went back to the kitchen to keep an eye on the boiling pasta. "I really shouldn't leave this you know, I should learn by Terra's mistakes, the girl is deadly but good lord is she a terrible cook."

She laughed as she stirred it, noticing the flashing light on her phone she hit a button to play the only two messages she had received all day.

She tilted her head as she smiled a smile brightening her face as a very familiar voice spoke.

"Hey Tia, guess you're not there, hope you haven't been eaten by a bear in the woods yet. Dibs on your books if you have though. So you know, I'm back in the country, the cruise I was working on is over and now I have a few months off before the next one. Not sure if I want to go on a boat again though, I get puked on by kids enough as it is and so many people can't handle the sea yet decide to go travelling on it and wonder why they hurl cookies. It'll take me a day or so to travel to your neck of the woods, so if you let me crash at yours I'll bring the ice cream. See ya soon, loves ya!"

The machine beeped as the message ended. Tia couldn't help but chuckle, Piper was back and as always she was going to stay at hers for a while. It had become a tradition of sorts, Piper would go work on a cruise running a crèche with children, something she loved to do and get to see the world at the same time. Then she'd come back and they'd hang out like the good old days. And the phrase 'loves ya' was something Piper had claimed to invented and used it just to annoy Terra. When they had been kids and Terra had taken English Literature as a major, it bugged the hell out of her.

"So that's one buddy coming to visit us Rain, so let's hope the next message is Terra saying she's coming over too." She said to the canine who was sat by her food happily liking her chops.

The next message started. "Tia, it's Jared, so you know we've had reports of hunters seen in town. Last I heard from the traffic cops they were heading up to your area. I'm calling in the other rangers, we're going to try and get there in time. I need you to scout out the area and call in co-ordinates. We'll be there in half an hour. I'm sorry to bug you in the night like this, but the word is they're after wolves, and we have a new rehabilitated pack up there. I have feeling they're the targets. Don't engage though, these guys don't play exactly legal, and I'm giving you authorisation to carry your gun, use it only if you have to, but these guys have a rap sheet that's darker than the norm. Radio in on channel 3, that's what we're working on."

Before the message had even finished Tia had turned off the stove and put the pan of pasta on the drainer. She ran up the stairs and tossed on some jeans and thick jumper, pulling socks on as she hopped down the stairs. Sitting on the bottom step she yanked on her hiking boots, slipped the gun she kept in her cabinet into her belt holster and topped it off with her thickest woollen hat.

She grabbed the radio off the cabinet and clicked it on, tuning to the correct channel. "Tia here, I'm heading out, what was the last location of the hunters."

She waited a second before a crackling reply came through. "Their trucks have been spotted parked by Hailey's Falls."

She cursed loudly. "Hell that's two miles from here and between us is the packs den." She clicked on. "I'm going on foot, I'll let you know when I get close, I'll head to the packs last known den to see if they're safe first."

She slammed out of her front door, Rain hot on her heels as she stomped steadily through the snow. There was a reason she had become a ranger where illegal hunting was high. It always amazed her how humans, her own kind could kill for fun. For survival, she could understand. But fun? A sport? There was something deranged about that. After all if you could kill an innocent animal, the next step had to be humans once that got boring. She hated it.

Killing anything was abhorrent to her, yet it was a disgusting fact throughout history. She adored the wolves, had been fascinated by their strength in family, their love for each other when they protected the youngest and weakest as a pack. Even their ferocity to survive. She loved all animals, but somewhere along the line, wolves had made a mark in her heart. It was why she lived so close to them and had accepted to work rehabilitating them, protecting them and even taking Rain in.

She glanced at Rain who loped a few yards ahead of her, sniffing at the snow but never going too far out of sight. She had been brought to her by Terra, who also had a warm heart towards animals, Rain had come from a strong wolf dog line, the father had been nearly pure wolf and the owners couldn't handle him. So, forgetting he was an animal, they treated him like a pet, then wondered why he killed their yappy Chihuahua. They had him put down claiming he was a danger, too savage, they were going to put Rain down too, the pup they had kept from the litter, convinced she had a savage gene in her too.

She snorted as she kept trudging through the snow and deeper into the words, were it was getting darker with the sun on the edge of setting. "Savage, nothing savage about an animal, just nature, forget they're animals then expect to be shocked when they act like animals."

She focused more as she drew nearer to the area where the pack had made their den. It was a fairly small pack, made up of five wolves and three pups that had been born two months ago. They never seemed to mind if she walked near their home, so long as she didn't get too close to the den where the pups were.

She stopped and listened, craning her neck to listen for anything unusual. If there was one thing she knew in this world, it was the forest she worked in. She frowned not even hearing the packs howls, they would normally be calling back to one another by now, or even yapping as they played with the pups.

She moved closer, placing her steps carefully to make no noise in the crunching snow. Nearly at the den Rain stopped and hunched down, a low long growl coming out of her mouth, her ears pricked forward. They were just coming over a rise that would look down on the den that had been dug out of the roots of an old tree.

She glanced around still not hearing anything she reached for her radio. "Tia here sir, the hunters have gone after the pack. I'm going to get close enough to see what's going on and if they're already skinning, I'm going to arrest them any means necessary. Going on radio silence from here on out."

"Tia wait! We're ten minutes away, it's-" that was all she heard until she clicked off the radio and slid it into her coat pocket, making sure the GPS was still on.

She would have waited a bit longer before slowly creeping forward, but over the soft rustling of the wind she heard a terrified bark. She gave a hand signal to Rain telling her to stay guard as she went forward, clinging to the trees on the edge of the rise she looked down on the scene.

She didn't even need the fading rays of sunlight to see what was going on. Her heart went cold as she looked at the den that was illuminated by three huge lights, strategically placed around by the four male hunters. One of the men was loading a cage onto the back of a trailer attached to a large ATV. Inside she could vaguely see the forms of two of the grey wolves. Dear god she hoped they were alright, if they were dead they wouldn't have bothered with the cages. But at the feet of the man who stood to the left by one of the lights, laid a dead wolf, still and prone on the white snow, with red seeping around it in a bloody circle.

She clenched her teeth to keep from shouting out in rage. If that wasn't bad enough she could also see the two remaining hunters digging out the den, hacking at the roots that formed it and the packed earth around it that the wolves had made their home. She started to creep closer, down the incline sticking to the trees. The closer she got the more she could hear, the men talking, laughing and rejoicing at their hunt. Apparently they were taking the two wolves in cages to new owner who wanted to put them in dog fights. Apparently it would really spice things up. They would kill the two other wolves hiding in the den trying to keep the pups safe, skin them for their rewards, and sell the pups as a new commodity pet to whoever was willing.

It made her sick listening to these men, her stomach turned at how cold and calloused they seemed. But she did have one advantage they had left their guns on the side, lying in the snow. More focused on the den and the growling wolves inside rather than the hunting rifles. She even spotted a crossbow among the arsenal.

She looked at her watch and nodded. If she didn't step in they'd dig far enough to simply shoot the wolves in the den and drag them and the pups out. Five minutes and back up would be there, with the police, she could distract them for five minutes.

She took a deep breath and pulled her gun from the holster, raising it and pointing it at the man in the middle as she stepped from the trees. She would easily be able to switch her gun to anyone of them who tried to rush her, and they wouldn't even be able to make it to their guns.

"Stop what you're doing and put your hands in the air! You're under arrest for illegal hunting on a protected wildlife reserve!"

The men froze what they were doing but they didn't raise their hands in defeat. Not a good sign, these guys weren't worried about being caught by one lonely ranger, but at least they didn't know back up was coming.

"What the hell?" A broad man with brown moustache grunted, each one of them were covered in stereotypical hunting gear. Hardy stuff and loads of pockets that held lord knew what.

She suddenly realised this might not have been the best idea, but she couldn't sit by and do nothing. Somebody had to stop them. She was no coward. Stupid at times however….that was another thing.

The younger man with blonde hair sticking out from his hat grinned. "Oh looky, we got ourselves a ranger. Girl's not too bright is she. Oh well guess we caught something interesting after all."

"Shut up Chad." Said a deep voice directly from behind her.

Her eyes widened in fear and realisation, no wonder they hadn't panicked and surrendered, they knew there had been someone else homing in on her from behind. She tried to spin, to dodge or duck whatever the man was about to do. But she wasn't quick enough. A terrible blow slammed into the side of her face, sending her crashing into the snow at her feet. Through blurry vision she saw another man, holding a rifle, the butt in her direction as he had obviously clocked her with it.

As darkness rushed up to get her she did have one vague thought. _Yeah, well done Tia, you are stupid…. _She vaguely heard the sound of approaching sirens._ I may be stupid but here comes the cavalry... _She slipped into oblivion.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note: Okay guys here's the next chapter, updated sooner than I thought. Lets get over that last cliffhanger. Review please! Lots of reviews that let me know what you think makes me write quicker! Sorry about the wait been busy off on my holidays. And so you know this is Book 1 of an idea of a Trilogy idea I had for the new species, they will be interlinked but you can read them as you like. Enjoy! P.S. Have you read Shadow? AWESOME!**

Chapter 3

Jericho sighed as there was a loud banging on his door. Getting up off the sofa and placing the can of soda on the end table he walked barefoot and opened the door.

"I thought humans considered it rude to knock on doors at midnight?" He asked Slash as he opened his front door. Though the minute he noted the males expression and the tense way he stood he became alert. "What's wrong?"

Slash shook his head, "Walk and talk, we need to move." He spun around and started marching down the hallway that was one of the floors in the men's dorms.

Jericho shut the door behind him and easily kept pace with Slash, wondering if there was a problem then why hadn't anyone called him. It didn't take long before Slash started talking.

"We had a call at the office, the local police want our help in finding a human who's gone missing."

Jericho frowned. "Then why do you need me? I'm not that great at tracking, you're better off doing that than me, you pick up scents a lot more."

He didn't like the way Slash hesitated before giving his answer, it didn't bode well. "It's the human female who brought in the wolf pups to us. When I heard it was her I demanded to be involved, and as you spent the most time with her when you escorted her off Reservation you might pick up something we miss. And…..well I thought you would want to come along, you spoke about her for a while after she left."

Jericho felt his blood chill, then rage, hot and undeniable boiled up inside of him. The human, Tia, had made him feel alive, she hadn't been terrified of him and his unusual features even among his own kind. And her scent and image had lingered with him till now in the long nights. It sometimes made him angry that a human could linger in his mind for so long, yet it also made him feel alone for a reason he couldn't yet figure out.

"Was she taken for being associated with us?" He asked fear and hatred for Mercile rising within him.

The medical company that had created him and all New Species had been shut down, but fractions associated with them and the most of the high up people who were behind them were still wandering around freely. As well as the trouble they had from the hate groups, anyone of them could have targeted a helpless human who visited Reservation once in the vain hopes of getting some sort of information. He dreaded the thought of the delicate human being held by one of the monsters who had kept him caged.

"No it wasn't one of our enemies. I was given the information and was told she was on duty they were tracking hunters in the national park she works in. She was the only one with in distance and went in to scout the area, she left a message saying protected wolves were being killed and was going in alone."

A deep rumble started to gather in his chest, one of those odd peculiar noises his kind made, not a growl, but something else that was primal and showed his irritation and anger. "What happened to her."

"Like we knew she worked as a ranger, she was alone and found the poachers. I'm not at all clear on what happened, we're about to move out to the scene and start tracking. But through communications there was a struggle, drag marks in the snow, a dead wolf had been left behind and the ones in the cage and den had been left, drugged but alive. There was no sign of her apart from some blood at the beginning of the drag marks, at the end of those marks were tire tracks. They left in a rush and took her with them. The snow's already starting to fall, they can't follow the tyre tracks. That's why they requested our help."

Rage was a living being thrashing around inside his head, in his heart, trying to break out and release his anger at what he was hearing, learning. Blood…her blood? At that thought he felt the rumble deepen further, a clear threat, a warning, no a promise. If these human hunters had harmed her, made her bleed then he would return the favour tenfold. He would feel their bones crack in his hands. He may not be canine or feline genetically enhanced, but primate. And something he had more of than the others was strength. His was in abundance and he would use it all to make these poachers suffer.

There was nothing more said as they moved their way to the front gates, Shadow was already waiting there with a black armoured SUV, Trey sat in the drivers seat. The snow was slowly pattering down around them, he could only imagine that up in the forest it was much worse. Tracks would be lost within the hour.

"Right gear up and lets move out." Shadow said opening the boot to reveal the NSO issued uniform, protective gear and weapons.

Jericho tried to hold back his grunt of annoyance, he was the only one who wasn't geared up, he'd walked out of his home not expecting to be rushed off of the NSO land to go rescue a human female who thought she could take on the world. The woman probably thought she could take on all the poachers and hunters in the world, and when she had spoken to him she had admitted she was stubborn enough that she went out more than most without a partner.

Despite his efforts an irritated grunt made it past his lips as he finished lacing up the black leather boots with grips that would help in the snow, the second the noise passed his lips Shadow's attention locked onto him.

Shadow moved around to him as he closed the boot. "You are in stable mind to help us track?"

Jericho wanted to shout, he was always asked if he was calm or in control, simply because he made different noises and they slipped past his control many of the New Species thought he was no better than a feral.

"My mind is stable and I will help you track her, my senses may not be as sharp as yours but I spent the most time with the female when she visited. That is why you wanted me to come wasn't it?"

Shadow regarded him a while before answering. "You're help wasn't something I requested, it was Slash's."

Jericho frowned at that Shadow wasn't usually cold to him but his behaviour was more abrupt than usual. He climbed into the back seat and threw a look at Slash. He would have to question him later why he had requested he come along, he certainly wasn't the best for tracking.

And Lord help those hunters if they had harmed Tia. There was something about that human, he just needed to protect her.

The vehicle jolted forward heading for the gates as the snow started to fall in a steady sheet.

The second feeling returned Tia wished she had remained unconscious. Her head ached and for a second she thought her skull had been cracked open, she could feel the damp stickiness matted on the back of her hair, they had at least drawn blood with that hit to her noggin. She blinked, trying to focus her vision to get a sense of where she was exactly.

"_First get your bearings, search for a weapon, get free and run. Never give up, and if all else fails I'll come for you and I'll raise bloody hell." _She could hear Terra's words as clear as anything, her best friend had drummed into their heads the need for survival, maybe because she was always trying to protect everyone, or because she was scared of the world. Terra was a complicated being, but she would raise hell if she came, then she would hate herself for being so brutal. Tia had seen the aftereffects of that more than once, seeing it again was motivation enough to get her focusing to try and escape. And Terra was right, no matter what she would survive. Tia Woodward gave up for no one!

Pep talk over with her gaze darted around, they were still outside, that was good, if she could get away she'd be able to find a landmark and get back, she knew this forest too well.

She shifted from her sitting position, her wrists were sore from there binding, her arms aching from being behind her back for so long and the tree she tied to had given her a crick in her back. "I'll be doing yoga for a week to get these aches out of my bones." She mumbled beneath her breath.

A fire a few feet in front of her illuminated the five men in their hunting gear, the young blonde one, Chad, was talking angrily his hands waving wildly as he confronted a man she hadn't seen. The one who had cocked her from behind.

"I say we shoot the damn bitch! She interrupted us, by the time we had her hog tied the damn cops were nearly on us, if they didn't have their fucking sirens going we'd be dead! It's bad enough we didn't get to haul the kills with us, we even left the live fuckers. So there goes our fucking money, we have nothing to sell!"

Chad was obviously enraged that he hadn't got to drag an animal with him to cash in on, despite it all that made Tia smirk, no profit would be made off of a living or dead wolf, she had at least accomplished that.

As she watched Chad start to wind up into another rant, the stranger, a tall, bulky man with black hair and scruffy stubble decorating his face struck him in the face. Knocking the kid back and onto the snow.

"Shut the hell up will ya! We didn't plan for this to happen, the girl got lucky. And we're not going to kill her here. We'd leave too much evidence, too much DNA. Wait till we get out of state and then we'll deal with her properly. Now shut it and let me think."

"Sorry Tony." Chad said picking himself up off the ground looking sheepish as he nursed a blooming bruise on his jaw.

_Oh great, they weren't going to kill me yet. I need to get the hell out of here._ Tia thought hastily to herself, twisting her wrists trying to see if they could loosen as she glanced around for a log, maybe a hunting tool left nearby that she could use once her hands were free.

"We don't need to kill her Tony, we could still get some money." She paused listening as another of them spoke he was sat on a stump by the fire prodding it idly with a stick.

Tony glanced at him annoyed. "We aren't doing a fucking ransom to the police. That's how you get caught, damn Bob you are dumb as fuck."

Bob threw his stick on the fire and pushed up his hunting hat by the brim. "I didn't say anything about ransom. I was in the local pub the other night and heard something mighty interested. I thought that bird looked familiar, there was a guy going around with her picture, he wanted her for information on those damn walking animals."

Her eyes widened, someone was looking for her? Walking animals? Did he mean the NSO? Why would somebody want her to find out about them?...Unless somehow it had gotten out she'd been on to Reservation. Tia suddenly had a bad feeling in her stomach. None of this could be good.

Realising loosening her ties on her wrist wasn't getting her anywhere, she started to rub the rope on the tree behind her hoping to fray it.

Tony faced Bob, listening intently. "Okay, I'm listening."

Bob snickered standing up. "I got talking to the fella, he told me if I saw the girl to call him, he'd give me five grand for her location, then after a few drinks, he said if I delivered her he'd more than double that. From what he hinted at, we'd be looking at around another three zeroes on that number. Somebody wants her bad for something. This might not be a total loss."

A wolf's howl echoed across the night, it seemed far too lonely in this frosty weather. The snow was thickening by the second, Tia was trying to not shiver, but she couldn't help the involuntary shiver that chased down her spine when the men looked at her. She saw no friendliness in their eyes, greed and cruelty only.

"You're call Tony, what do we do?"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Sorry for the late update guys! Been so busy landing a new job and arranging things ready for when I start, as well as it seems I'm starting to get the Christmas fever! Yes I am starting my shopping because I cannot stand last minute buys. But I will try my best to post, but as I work in a school and this is our busiest time of year please be patient. And thanks so much to all my reviewers and readers! This one is for you all! Please review and let me know what you think.**

Chapter 4

With the look Tony shot at Tia in that second, with a sickening smile stretching across his face made her wish that she was a thousand miles away. But with both hands and feet bound the way they were that wasn't going to be happening any time soon.

"Okay lads, new plan I say we hand the girl over to whoever was asking about her. We'll take her to the cabin with us and hold out for a day or two, Bob you get in touch with the fella who wanted her, try and bump up the price."

They started to nod and chip in with their own tidbits of agreement. Firmly she started twisting her hands, trying to loosen the ties, after a while her skin began to burn and feel raw, but she kept going. She couldn't stop.

"Hey Tony, looks like she's come to." Chad motioned towards the tree where she was sat glaring at them.

Yeah smart Tia, while they discuss your demise and you try to oh so subtly escape, glare daggers at them. Because that make you look harmless. She chastised herself, but she couldn't help the anger on her face. The hunters that had tried to kill innocent animals for profit and were now discussing selling her to an unknown bidder, sickened her to her very stomach.

Tony walked forward the snow crunching under his heavy boots, he crouched in front of Tia and misty breath that stank of cigar smoke billowed in her face. "You little ranger, have caused some major fucking trouble, but thanks to you, we may just get a paycheque still."

Cockiness flared to life inside her heart, she smirked. "You pigs caused trouble for yourselves. Hunting those wolves is illegal, especially on the reserve. You're going to have the whole police department out looking for you, you won't get far at all. You'll all be in jail by the end of the week." She spoke brazenly, hoping they couldn't see the shaky fear in her eyes.

Tony smirked right back at her, suddenly he had a fistful of her hair, tugged hard enough that she stifled a gasp of pain and pulled her head back so that her neck was perfectly arched as he pressed the length of a hunting blade against it.

"You think you're so fucking smart don't you? You wear that fucking uniform and think you're somehow better than me? We're humans, top of the motherfucking food-chain, we do what we like with those animals, and it's our right. And tree hugging bitches like you just get in the way of progress. But it's not all lost, seems you love those damn walking talking animals too. And someone's interested in getting you, so I'm going to hand you over and slap a damn bow on your ass."

Before any more could be said, or the blade pressed tighter against her neck, a wolf's howl sounded again, this time it was closer. And another much closer replied. She saw the men's interest peek.

"Hey, maybe we could make some extra profit on selling some skins after all." Bob said, scanning the area where the howls had come from.

"Those sounded like wolves tracking prey, hunting. If they've caught a deer they'll be too busy feeding to spot us if we approach from downwind. We can shoot them and haul their skins on the back of the ATV's. Can't take live ones, seeing as we left the cages at the den, thanks to Little Miss Ranger. It's worth a try to get some extra payments after all this. And I do like the skins." The one man left who had remained silent, with the brown moustache, finally spoke.

As Tia looked at his cold hard features, she decided she didn't like him the most; there was nothing but cruelty and joy on his face. He wanted to hunt the wolves for fun and the way he kept caressing the rifle cradled in his arms as he spoke about 'skins', made her stomach bottom out.

"Yeah, Phil's right, just think how much we get when we split the earnings if we bagged some hides as well. What do ya say Tony?" Chad piped up.

Tony didn't move at first, but slowly he released his hold on her hair and let stood up, sheathing the knife. "Okay lads, I know there's nothing better than going home empty handed after a hunt, we'll track them and haul as many kills as we can on the ATV's then pack up here and head to the cars. Load up the gear lads, Chad you're staying here to watch Little Miss Ranger."

"What the hell? But why?"

Tony turned to face Chad and took a threatening step forward. Chad immediately backpedalled. "I-I mean okay Tony, you're the boss."

The other men snickered at the whole scenario. Despite the vague fogginess in her mind Tia, could clearly understand. "You bastards! Leave those wolves alone, they have more right to live here than you do."

Tony just laughed. "Think of it this way, it's more your fault than anything. If you hadn't interfered we wouldn't have to kill these wolves."

No amount of cursing or threatening would stop them. With a heavy heart Tia stared after the three men as they left, packing enough weaponry and ammo to take out a pack of at least five. That left her with Chad, the childish monster.

"Why the fuck do I get stuck with babysitting duty? The guys will be teasing me like fuck for damn weeks." He griped, kicking a bag by the fire as he slumped on a log.

Hope flared to life in Tia, the bag was hanging open and the buttoned end of a knife in a sheath had slid out into the snow. She started twisting her feet and her hands more, surely they had loosened enough now. All she needed to do was get free, get the weapon, she could defend herself then and she could get away. Maybe find a radio before those men found the pack of wolves.

"What the hell you squirming for?!" Chad groused standing to glare at her, she had made more noise than she thought.

She tilted her head, she knew she should stay quiet, but she was so angry. "What's the matter little boy? Don't like being left out of your sick games? Boohoo, my aching heart bleeds for you."

Anger flashed in his eyes and he cleared a knife from his belt. "You think you're so fucking smart, but you're nothing but a little bitch. I'll show you I'm not a little boy, I'll show you how much of a man I am." He slashed the rope that held her to the tree, but with her hands and feet still tied she was limited regardless.

He yanked the rope off her and leant in close, she flinched back pressing against the tree. "Get the hell away from me." She snapped, her voice wavering as the knife was perilously close to her face where he rested it against the tree.

"Awww what's the matter, you were all talk just a second ago. Don't worry little ranger, I won't leave any scars, you actually have quite a decent body under that stiff damn uniform of yours."

Real terror shivered down her spine, she knew what he was implying and the face he was staring down at her cleavage that was revealed by her slightly open jacket wasn't reassuring.

As the knife tip traced down the front of her jacket, she glanced away, despising the sickening glee on his face, she heard a noise.

It was a deep, furious, warning-before-the-attack growl. And it was one she knew well. A black blur burst past her and barrelled into Chad, knocking him away from her. Snarls ripped through the night air, teeth gnashed and Chad screamed, flailing as he tried to defend against Rain.

Tia scrambled the best she could, which was more or less a sort of bum shuffling to the bag and blindly using her hands to unsheathe the knife and position it so she could saw at the rope holding her hands. The knife jerked and slipped in her awkward hold, but she kept going, kept trying, Rain was buying her precious seconds and she couldn't afford to waste them.

It felt like forever before she felt give in the rope around her wrists, then they sagged and she managed to pull her hands free, not even pausing look around she bent forward to cut her feet free. It was easier and quicker now she could see what she was doing and her hands were free.

Tia was untangling the rope around her ankles and standing up when she heard a pained whine. She glanced at Rain and Chad and her heart froze. Rain had Chad pinned, but in the few minutes it had taken to get free, he had stopped panicking and blindly lashing out whilst trying to cover himself, now his hands whipped down and repeatedly plunged into Rain's ribs. Blood spattered the snow and Rain faltered on her feet, flopping on her side in the snow.

Chad crawled away from the wolf-dog and started checking his injuries. "What the fuck is going on?"

He hadn't noticed her yet, he was too worried about the scratches and bites he'd received, even though his hunting clothing had protected hi from most of them. She grabbed the nearest heavy item near her, which happened to be a rock. She ran up behind him and swung it at the back of his head. She wasn't going for a killing blow, but she wasn't going to be gentle either. He slumped in the snow as the crack from rock connecting with cranium echoed in the cold night around them.

After making sure he didn't even twitch, Tia ran to Rain and knelt beside her. Her hands smoothed through her thick fur coat, coming away coated in blood. Tears began to fall in a steady run, her breathing ragged from fear, adrenaline and now grief. The wounds were fatal and Rain's panting was growing weaker, her whines of pain growing fainter.

Tia shuffled so she could lean down and stare Rain in the eyes, gently stroking her face, her ears, anything she could reach and try to comfort her companion. "You know what Rain, when Terra gave you to me, she said you could one day save my life. I thought she was thinking of a Lassie telling someone Timmy fell down the well kind of scene. Not this, I never wanted this. I told you to stay, but you came looking for me." She tried to steady her voice, she was hiccupping and it was getting harder to speak. The sound of distant gunfire went off, barely piercing her bubble of grief. "You're such a loyal friend, I'll miss you so much girl. Thank you for coming after me, you always came after me you silly canine."

She couldn't be sure if Rain had ever fully understood her, but they had a bond, they had been together for so long, they really did know each other. Tia stayed there smoothing her even after she had finished speaking, a few seconds later and Rain had stopped breathing, her glassy eyes went blank and Tia just cried and smoother her still.

People would probably call her silly for reacting in such a way, but she would never care, animal or not, part dog or part wolf, Rain had found her in trouble, she had attacked to defend her, she had given her life and now she would be mourned. She was worthy of that.

She sat there a while, knowing she should start to move, in case Chad woke up, in case the others case came back. But it was hard to pull away. She was about to stand when a boot crunching in the snow had her spinning around the knife still clutched in her shaky hand.

She hadn't heard the ATV's coming, had they snuck up on her? Good god, would they skin Rain?

Beneath all her worry and fears, the emotion that won to be first was pure and utter bewilderment. The NSO officer who stood within the firelight looking straight at her, wore no helmet and she would always remember those burnished autumn eyes.

"Jericho? ….. What are you doing here?" She managed to croak out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: Hi guys hope you had a good Christmas and Happy New Year! I start my new job tomorrow so thanks for the messages congratulating me. And enjoy the chapter. Please review, it makes writing so worthwhile. **

Chapter 5 

Jericho couldn't take his eyes off her, panic and fear had beaten at him ever since they had arrived at the wolf dens. The police and park rangers were all milling around, the dead wolf carcasses scattered around, the live ones that had been caged, all in the middle of being assessed by a park vet and while they were tranquilised. They were waiting for the K-9 Unit to arrive, they needed help tracking but with the snow falling and delays with the vehicles, the NSO were the best option.

Already two canine Species had circled the area, branching out, they had circled a small spot of blood on the ground, drag marks which then lead to tyre tracks, that had already nearly faded from sight. That was what had made his blood chill the most, that small patch of blood had been coated in Tia's scent. They had indicated a direction and they had all spread out, they had tracked and after communicating a few times, howls echoing through the night. The howls had worked in their favour, as they got nearer the hunters came to them, thinking they were hunting regular wolves, when in fact they had walked straight to their Hunters. Not even their guns had helped them.

He had gone ahead, fearful knowing Tia was still not found, yet it seemed she didn't need his help. She was alive, a human male whose head was coated in blood was on the ground, and she was alive. Yet sorrow showed on her face, tears had streamed down the dirt smears on her face, dried blood caked the back of her scalp.

He cautiously stepped closer, relieved she remembered his name, he didn't want to scare her. Though maybe it would have been better if one of the kinder looking Species had approached her instead of him, he had heard many times how his eyes were terrifying and freakish.

"I am not here to harm you Tia, I am a New Species Officer and we have come to take you back. We met at Reservation, remember that day you brought the wolf pups to us?"

She nodded fervently. "Of course I remember, I couldn't forget you if I tried Jericho…."

She fell silent and a little bit of hope flared to life in him, he had remembered her. She was staring down at a the body of a wolf, he knelt next to her. "One of the wolves they hunted?" He asked, she mourned the fact she couldn't save this one.

She shook her head. "No, it's Rain. She was my…I don't want to say pet, she was more than that, she was my friend. She's a wolf dog breed, I was given her as a puppy by my friend. She followed me here after I gave her a command to stay, Chad…." She nodded at the human male on the ground, "he was going to…..I'm not sure and I don't want to know, he was going to do something not nice. That's when Rain attacked him, because of her I got loose, because of me she's dead."

Jericho hesitated then gently placed a hand on her shoulder, he winced at how cold she was, with the injury to her head, he feared she may have a concussion or worse. He would get her medical help first, then he would beat on those damn humans for a minute for daring to take what was his. He would double the injuries and pain they had put her through, he would make sure that-

He froze and blinked, giving a slight groan. To hell with it, he was thinking of her as his. He had to stop that before he got out of control and did something stupid. Like claim a mate. Claim her? The thought wasn't so displeasing to him.

Focusing on the present he turned her to face him. "Then you were lucky to have a loyal friend who helped to save you. I will carry you from here to the vehicles, we're quite far away and it's too cold. You're already freezing." He said and giving her time to protest he picked her up.

The faintest sound of snow crunching had him glancing up, he nodded as Slash, walked into the clearing. "Is she harmed?" he asked.

Jericho shook his head. "Not seriously, though the humans will need to inspect the head injury to be sure. Can you secure the human male while I take her to the medics? She knocked him out."

Slash shook, but Tia had tensed and sat up straight in his arms, she was as light as a feather and he didn't like the fact he could feel her bones. Did she not earn enough to eat her fill? He would correct that.

"Wait, I need to take Rain's body, I cant just leave her here, I need to at least bury her in the woods by my cabin that was her territory." Her eyes were pleading and he couldn't find it in his heart to deny her, he wanted to help soothe her.

He nodded. "We will arrange for her to be moved, don't worry Tia." He ignored Slash's raised eyebrow and questioning look, he would explain later, if it was important to Tia he would make sure her wolfdog made it home, but first he needed to get her to a medic. Her breathing had evened out and she didn't stir, he quickened his pace, hoping it was just exhaustion rather than a brain injury that had sent her to sleep.

Tia yawned and rubbed at her eyes groggily as she sat in the back of an ambulance, she was tired, achy, emotionally wrung out and also emotionally confused. Jericho was hovering near, but he didn't want to seem to stay too close to her since she came too when they had reached the paramedics.

Or he was more annoyed at the fact that she had downright refused to go to the hospital for a scan. She had nothing but a nagging headache and a sore head, if she had a bleed in the brain or worse she wouldn't have been able to escape let alone clout Chad across the skull. She felt fine, considering all that had occurred.

Besides, there was another reason she needed to stay, not only did she need to talk to Jericho and explain there had been mention of someone wanting information on the NSO but she also wanted to remain in his company a little longer. She didn't know how long she had left, but she had thought she would never see him again, she wasn't going to take this chance for granted.

She waited until the kindly paramedic gave a her the all clear on the rest of her injuries, nothing major, bruised ribs, raw wrists from the binds, a cut on her scalp which he hadn't even needed stitches and a nick on her neck from one of the times a blade had been used to threaten her with.

The medic sighed and stood. "You're all good to go, just make sure someone keeps on eye on you and wakes you every three hours when you sleep to make sure you're ok. You sure I can't convince you to go to the ER?"

She pulled a face at him and after a chuckle he raised his hands. "Fine, I take the hint, you don't like being a patient. But seriously you get any migraines, blurry vision, dizziness or nausea you take yourself straight to the ER. Understood?"

She saluted. "Yes sir." And finally she wiggled off the edge of the gurney and placed her feet on the ground. Instantly Jericho was there, his arm helping to support her as she tested her footing and smiled. See, no dizziness. She thought smugly.

Though she would have a headache after she spoke to the police and gave her statement, she could see them waiting by one of the cruisers. She needed to talk to Jericho and now might be her only chance. She stopped walking and gripped his arm, feeling the warm muscles under his sleeve.

He almost looked surprised as he gazed at her hand then her. "Are you okay?"

She licked her lips trying to find the words to explain simply. "There's something you and the NSO need to know. It concerns New Species. When those men took me after I found them, they were angry over the fact they didn't have any wolves to make a profit off of. So they decided to make a profit off of me. They said-"

She froze and started, an odd fierce grumbling noise was coming from him, it was so loud in fact that one of the Species Officers who had introduced himself asDarkness glanced in their direction and slowly made his way to them. She went over the words she had said and shook her head, he hadn't let her finish and he was over reacting.

"Jericho, it's not like that. They said someone was going around the town with my picture, he wanted information on me. He knew I had been to Reservation to drop of the wolves. They were going to sell me to him. But the odd thing is, I never told anyone outside of the office that I went to Reservation that day. And we all know about confidentiality in the office. So I haven't got a clue how an outsider would have known."

At least he had stopped making that odd noise, his angry features smoothed out into something calmer and more terrifying. She could see things calculating in those wonderful eyes that she dreamt of, something had bugged her about what the hunters had said and she just knew she had to mention it to him. There were so many threats against the NSO, she hoped that this wasn't someone looking to them harm. But the odds weren't ever in favour of that.

The silence continued until Shadow approached them and stared at both of them. "Is there a problem here? Miss Woodward, I do believe the police need you to take your statement, Jericho we shall be-"

Jericho had turned to Darkness as he interrupted. "This is no longer human business. It's New Species. The human hunters who took Tia mentioned they were going to sell her to someone who was asking for her in the town. They know she visited the NSO and hinted they wanted her for information on us. This makes it our problem.

Darkness glanced at her and she couldn't help but think that his name fit him well, he was all dark hair and dark skinned, his eyes like liquid shadows. "Is this true?"

She couldn't tear her gaze away from his and found herself nodding numbly.

"I'll call it in, we'll question the humans and bring her to the NSO for protection for now." He was already reaching for the radio on his hip as she realized what was happening.

"Wait I need to get home, I only live in the woods, everybody gets lost when they come to visit me so nobody will find me. Besides I need to go with the police and then to the office to file in my report on everything. I can't just go!"

Jericho raised a brow at her. "You said those humans mentioned someone was looking for you for your association with us, the police are no longer involved, this is our jurisdiction now. Your work will have to wait, I'm sure they will understand. And no, you cannot stay at your home, the NSO has strong enemies and if they are looking for you then you will require our protection. This is not up for debate."

She bit her lip, he had given perfectly reasonable points, but she felt like she was being ordered and she wanted to bite back. "Yeah well….those were some fancy words. Jurisdiction huh? Been watching cop films have ya?"

She groaned mentally at the weak retort, but the sides of Jericho's lips twitched a little. Was he trying to not laugh at her? She glared at him in warning in case he was silently laughing. After a few seconds she sighed. "Fine I'll go to the NSO, but I need to go to my cabin still first."

He folded his arms. "That would not be wise, this person looking for you might already be there."

She folded her arms to and gave her his best 'don't-you-dare-try-to-persuade-me-or-I'll-kick-your-ass' look. "Then I'll have you or whatever New Species you send to protect me, you can keep me safe. But I'll need some of my belongings and to make sure the gas and things are shut off. And the most important thing….you said I could bury Rain, I'm not going to let anyone else do that or wait for it. She was my friend, my responsibility. I need to lay her to rest."

He blinked and she could see his eyes warm, his eyes shone at her as if autumn leaves had been caught in the blaze of a sunset. She felt warm despite the snow on her cheeks. "Very well then, I'll arrange it with Darkness. But no longer than is necessary." He said and walked to Shadow who was also talking to the police.

She stood there and glanced up at the fluffy grey clouds that covered the skies. Something odd was going on around, somehow she was smack dab in the middle of it all. Everything had changed suddenly. They had never had hunters that organised or vicious get past the reserves borders before, some stranger going around town with her picture was odd enough, as well as Rain would never again walk at her side on a patrol, or howl at an unholy hour waking her up. Normal at that time seemed a very long way away.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Hi guys sorry it's been a while, been rushed off my feet in my new job, it's a lot of travelling. But I get a day off so I can work on my writing. Just a quick note a big thanks to SilmeriaKai who pointed out that I had described the NSO officer in chapter 5 and called him Shadow, that was my mistake the reason he didn't look like Shadow was because it was meant to be Darkness, I mixed up the names and the appearance, I can only blame it on the fact that I was re-reading those two books at the time. It's been updated, so thanks! And as always enjoy the chapter and please review.**

**Chapter 6**

Tia stared around at the converted hotel that was part of Reservation, she hadn't gotten this far when she had last been here. She wanted to admire it, the pretty carpeting, the long windows, the soft lighting and furnishings, but what she wanted more was a hot bath, a comfy bed, a movie and a bottle of wine. That was her plan for the night.

She had buried Rain and said her goodbyes, she had gathered a few things she needed to get by for a few days and then had said goodbye to the life she had known. She was sat in what was essentially a games room, sofas and pool tables were scattered around with the odd television. But apart from the two NSO's who had been left with her there was no one else.

If she had the energy and wasn't grieving she would have felt very nervous. She leant her head in her hand and glanced at Jericho who was stood across from. Since he had carried her had been silent, had said a word to her other than to offer help dig Rain's grave, she had declined stating it was her responsibility. Her hands were still dirty.

"Any chance I might be getting a shower soon?" she asked the other New Species next to her. He was a new one she had met, though his features reminded her of Jericho, just without the burning autumn eyes. His name did suit him though, he smiled a lot.

Smiley turned to her after casting a look over at Jericho. "I'm sorry it's taking so long, we need you to inform the council members of exactly what happened to you. It's easier if you do it, you may recall a detail that may help us. We are taking this threat very seriously."

She tilted her head and sighed. It wasn't an answer but she understood. People, mostly idiots in her opinion were always threatening the New Species. She had lost her dog Rain to a group of idiots who thought animals were nothing and should be shot and hunted, there were many more in the world who thought the same of the New Species. It suddenly put everything in perspective. They had probably lost a lot of their people to those fanatics and hate groups.

Finally she heard a door open and footsteps, Smiley stood and Jericho finally reacted, he stepped forward and stood just at her side of the chair. And when she got a look at who had come into the room she was very grateful for Jericho's presence.

_Holy bloody hell! My friends are not going to believe this! _The thought ran through her mind as she nervously got to her feet. She couldn't take her eyes of the man, he was famous worldwide, a celebrity and the leading face of the New Species, Justice North. All the pictures she had seen of him in magazines and on TV had made him seem so sweet and calm, however face to face as they were now she had a sudden feeling that he was as deadly as the wolves and cougars she had encountered in the woods throughout her life.

"Miss Woodward, I am Justice North. Thank you for coming here and we are sorry that you were attacked and targeted because of us."

She blinked and a frown came to her face, what he had said snapped her senses out of their hibernation, her personality surged with a spark as she cocked a hip and folded her arms.

"You don't need to apologise to me. You didn't kill my dog and you certainly didn't go hunting for a wild pack and decide to kidnap me. Stupid people do stupid things for any reason they deem is valid. What happened is none of your fault. In fact I should be thanking you. If your people hadn't helped to find me I'd be frozen in the forest right now and probably dead."

He seemed stunned for a moment and Smiley looked at her before chuckling, even Jericho smirked. She had to restrain herself from fist pumping the air. She had made the leader of the NSO speechless, recovered quickly.

"That may be the case, but we thank you for being here. I was told that you mentioned the men who took you mentioned that they were going to sell you to someone who wanted information on the NSO. If you will follow me I would like you to tell your story of everything that happened to the rest of our Council who are here and a few of our security team members. "

She glanced at Jericho feeling nervous, despite his silence he offered her a brief smile and she relaxed. "Sure, lead the way Mr. North."

Tia followed Justice with Smiley and Jericho at her heels, she felt like she was a national treasure. She chuckled under her breath, if this was what the president dealt with all the time she'd quit and go live in a cave to escape.

Her laugh froze in her throat when she entered the new room, obviously a meeting room with a large oval table, full of mainly male New Species, one was the first female New Species she had seen, a few humans were sat at the table as well, in the dim light she could make out probably twelve or more. They must've really wanted to hear the story of what had happened.

She was seated in one of the free seats at the front, Jericho sat on her left, Smiley leant against the wall and Justice took a seat at an angle from her so he could look directly at her. She had the whole rooms attention. This was more nerve racking than tracking hunters in the snowy nights.

"Miss Woodward, welcome to Reservation, we are sorry to have kept you waiting but I hope you understand the importance that what you said needs to be dealt with immediately. If there is a threat to the New Species we need as much information as you can give us. My name is Tim Oberto, head of human security. Could you please tell us what happened tonight?"

She took a deep breath and focused her eyes on the table in front of her, it was easier than locking gazes with all of the people around her. Slowly she began to retell what had happened. From getting the phone call, tracking the pack and the hunters, what had gone wrong that lead to her waking up being a prisoner, she froze and hesitated in the middle of sharing her escape.

"Rain, my dog, she's a wolf mix, she had followed me and when I was trying to escape and Chad came at me, she fought him off. She protected me, that gave me the time to get free and hold of a weapon. But not before he stabbed her to death. The rest after that is simple, your officers showed up not long afterwards."

Tia clenched her fists on her legs, she would not cry, she had already cried and mourned, now was not the time to indulge in remorse and grief. These people needed answers to keep themselves safe. Her job was to help people and animals, this was what she had always wanted to do.

"You said they were discussing selling you, can you tell us anything more about that?" Justice asked.

She thought and frowned shaking her head. "Apart from what I already told you no. Like I said, they were angry that they hadn't got their trophy kills." The disgust was clear in her voice. "But someone had been going around one of the local bars with my picture, asking for information on me, because they knew I had been on reservation. The only people who knew I was at Reservation is my boss and a work colleague Jaden Ross. But they would never have told where I went, we have strict confidentiality policies. Could someone have seen me coming from the gates? You guys have pretty good security, maybe someone was on the cameras. I'm sorry I can't be of any more help."

Justice nodded at her. "You have been a great help Miss Woodward. We will investigate this and while we try to find this person who has your picture, we would like to invite you to stay here with us. You may be at risk of someone coming after you at your home if they find out where you live."

Tia's mouth gaped open. Stay here while they investigated and found the mystery man? How long would that take? She had planned for a few days but what if that went beyond days and into weeks? She had a job, a life to get back to.

"I can stay a few days Mr. North, but at some point I will need to go back to my life. I won't live in fear of someone breaking into my home. I can take care of myself, if this will extend beyond a few days I would like to speak to you about going home if possible. I will take precautions to stay safe but I won't have my life uprooted by idiots with a gun."

She pursed her lips and decided to ignore the subtle growling rumbling noise that was coming from Jericho next to her. She didn't care, she had had enough of having control taken from her in the last twenty four hours, she just wanted to get back to her life as soon as.

"That seems reasonable Miss Woodward. Hopefully we will have this all resolved as soon as possible. Jericho and Smiley will show you to a room here in the hotel, you will be staying in the same room for duration of your stay and anything you need please let us know."

Jericho stood and held her hand as he helped her to her feet. She felt as if she had just been dismissed from the principals office. Everyone else was staying in the room, she wished she could be a fly on the wall to see what they spoke about. But the door was already closing behind her and they were walking down the corridors again.

She didn't fail to notice Jericho's strong grip on her hand. They paused waiting for an elevator.

"Smiley, go to the canteen and bring some food up for Tia, she hasn't eaten in hours and her stomach has been growling." Jericho spoke blatantly.

Tia's cheeks fired up, she stared at him aghast, she thought her stomach rumblings had been quite enough to go by unnoticed. Obviously with their heightened hearing every New Species in that room had heard. She was now thoroughly embarrassed.

Smiley chuckled. "Yeah I heard, I'll bring it back up with me. See you guys in a bit." And with that trademark smile that probably gave him his name he left.

The lift doors opened and Jericho hauled her in, her embarrassment spiked to annoyance as he punched in a floor number. "Will you quit dragging me around like I'm a suitcase? What has got you so angry?"

Suddenly those blazing eyes were directly on her, they raged like a summer fire in the woodlands and his silence to her broke. "If you think you are going to leave her even if the threat to you hasn't been taken care of, you are very mistaken. You will be protected whether you like it or not, you could have been killed tonight, do you not get that? And you leave in the woods all alone, who would be there to help you if this stranger looking for you found out where you lived? No one."

Half of Tia was relieved he was talking to her again, and very excited and happy over this protective side of him, yet the other half that was her independence was enraged, he had no right to dictate to her, she had been shown how to defend herself, she had not spent months taking self defence lessons of her closest friend to be shoved in a hole for her own protection.

"I said I'd take precautions, besides when that time comes that conversation will be between me and Justice. You have no say over my life. I have kept myself safe for years, I'm a ranger. And why do you care so much? You must care, because you're the only one who is angry. But why? I know I like you, maybe a bit too much for my own good, but you don't see me getting pissy with you do you?"

"You like me?" Those brilliant eyes blinked at her and she suddenly realised what she had admitted in her rant. His voice had gone deeper and now he was crowding closer.

His strong body towered over her, but she didn't feel threatened. Her breath quickened as she pressed back into the elevator wall.

"Well- Ummm…what I meant was…..you….I didn't mean that…will you step back you're really close." She snapped.

His defined face split into grin, so wide she could see the faint curve of canines. His hands reached out to grip her waist and she could retreat back no further. She couldn't stop herself from looking up at his eyes, something so beautiful that always captivated her, yet part of a man who was so strong and if her assumption was right didn't let half of what he was feeling or thinking ever show.

"No, I won't step back. I want to taste your lips. Because I like you too."

She was stunned as his head swooped down and he kissed her, the feel of his lips pressed to hers set a fire in her belly, one that travelled lower and lit a brighter fire. Her hands reached up and clutched to his shoulders. Her anger and frustration melted away, leaving nothing behind except for the single thought running through her head. _Jericho…More….._


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: Okay I know I owe all of you wonderful people an apology, I have no excuse other than the fact I haven't had the time. It flew by even my holidays, work has had me doing over time for months and I'm only now managing my time and feeling the will to write. So I will be pushing myself to write more as I have three more characters and stories in mind after this one. Already I am drawing up the drafts so bear with me. Give me a kick to keep me going and review and enjoy. By the way happy new year all!**

Chapter 7

It had been a very long time since Tia had kissed anyone, if she was being entirely honest she could start counting years on both hands now. Because maybe she had a drunk peck on the lips, but in the last six years nothing had been as deep and consuming as this. Jericho had ensnared all of her senses, with a simple kiss.

His hands squeezed at her waist, rustling her shirt a bit until she felt his hot hands caressing her flesh, smoothing her sides and tracing her ribs. Her surrounding became nothing but blurs, her own hands started to grasp in his hair, rejoicing in the fact that it did feel as silky as it looked. He tilted his head and deepened the kiss, nipping at her lips till she gasped and he took advantage. She did start panting then.

Somewhere in the far depths of her mind a warning was screaming out. _Elevator! You are in an elevator! Remember what happened last time you threw yourself at a guy like this?!_

Obviously some part of her brain was able to think because that got her thinking, recalling a handsome blonde man's face, filled with laughter and green eyes. She had fallen head over heels in love with Mace, had been with him since high school and had been called a lovesick puppy by her best friends. But that hadn't mattered Terra was sceptical of all men and trusted none with her heart and Phoebe, well Phoebe was too absorbed in her romance novels to actually notice the real men who were interested and none ever compared to the hero's in her stories. So she had ignored them both when they hadn't eagerly jumped over the moon when she had run off and eloped at nineteen. Stupid and foolish, she had leapt into a man's arms then as she was now.

And on those thoughts memories washed up from the past, eager to be paid attention as she hadn't thought of them in years.

She remembered the years after her marriage, she realised the drinking games were no longer fun, but Mace didn't care, she had worked three jobs to keep living while he recovered and slowly debts started piling up, bills became unpaid, tempers started fraying and the Terra had visited.

By the end of two years the abuse had started, verbal at first, curses and slanders, items that were dear to her being smashed because she hid the rent money so he couldn't use it for drink or to go gambling. She had turned around one night infuriated at the fact she had allowed a man to use her and run her into the ground. And she had finally told Mace what she thought of him and she would divorce him. It was after that huge argument that night when Terra had showed up at the door the next morning.

Terra always came and went, fresh out of school she had joined the military, it was anyone's guess as to when she'd come back next. She had taken one look at Tia's bruised face and split lip and dragged her out of the apartment, drove her to Phoebe's house where she had been welcomed with hugs and warm food and Terra had left. The next day after Terra had returned with divorce papers signed by Mace, after that she had signed them herself and sent them to be notarized and the divorce finalised. She didn't know what Terra had done, though she could guess, and Phoebe had spent months later helping her work and pay off the remaining debts and then finding the job at the Ranger Station. It was because of her friends she was strong now, that she had a life, what if she made the entirely same mistake?!

That was when the flapping started, hands at first weakly flailing about Jericho's shoulders, then slapping down on them and shoving with all her might as she pulled away. "Stop! Stop, stop, stop! Hell we can't just snogging like a pair of rowdy teenagers in an elevator!" She exclaimed out of breath.

She would have laughed at the expression on Jericho's face, confusion was an understatement, but the fear that she was making a mistake helped to hold her ground.

Jericho's eyes narrowed as he peered down at her from his impressive height. "Why stop? Why are you distressed?"

She licked her swollen lips but quickly stopped as his gaze locked on to that action, okay, this wasn't fair to the big guy, because if she was honest she had been just as eager as him, but she need to take caution first, she needed to explain without sounding like a maniac.

"Look I know I said I like you, I do. And a part of me is really excited and giddy that you do to, because that kiss was pretty intense and amazing but… that was way too quick. I've only met you what twice now? I'm also really glad you came to help save me and have been with me all this time, it's made me feel safe and like I know you a bit more. But I still don't know you, at all."

Jericho's frown turned into exasperation. "Of course you know me, I am Jericho, you are Tia. I want to kiss you again."

He ducked his head to try and kiss her she yelped and peddled back into the elevator wall her eyes wide. He did stop, that puzzled look setting back onto his face. "Why are you running away from me as if you are scared?"

"I'm not scared! Really I'm not, it's just….look my emotions are all over the place, I'm tired, I'm hungry, I was kidnapped, I'm pretty sure I was given a bit of morphine at one point too. So now is not the best time to make a decision to get physical with somebody."

His hands dropped from her waist and he straightened up. "Physical? You think I would harm you? I may be bigger and stronger but I would never hurt you, I would do everything I can to be gentle with you. Males do no strike at females, they are to be protected, especially the human ones, you are weaker and have no fangs or claws."

She silently praised him on the belief that women shouldn't be hit, he was gaining some good brownie points. "If Terra could hear you call her weak she'd kick your ass." She mumbled under breath before gently taking his hand.

"I don't mean physical as in you'd hurt me, but that's good to know you won't. I never though you would, I meant as in….being intimate, kissing, groping or you know eventually sex. I don't want to make that decision right now, I know you are Jericho, but I don't know a thing about you, what food you like, what movies you watch, or books you read. What makes you laugh or what pisses you off. All those things I like to know, I like to know a person before I'm close, intimate, with them. So while the kiss took me by complete surprise and was very nice I want to slow things down first. While I'm here at Reservation let's get to know each other, you can show me around, we can eat together, hang out or just talk. Well, if you don't mind, if you don't want to wait till we know each other….. you're not getting a thing from me."

He was quite for a while, his burnished eyes had dimmed back to their simmering amber as he thought, and without a word he turned around and pressed a button on the panel. The elevator started to move upwards again, she hadn't even realised he had stopped it.

Was he going to say nothing? Had she just lost all his interest because she had told him she wanted to know him first? She had heard when talking to the New Species you needed to be blunt and explain things clearly. Her boss had had dealing with them in the past and had made sure she was ready to talk to them if ever it was needed.

The door binged open and Tia was actually grateful when he took her hand and lead her down a hallway lined with doors, despite her earlier comment of being treated like a suitcase. If he was willing to hold her hand that had to be good right?

"Am I correct in the fact that you want us to know each other, as friends, before we are 'physical' with each other yes?"

She was surprised he had spoken at all. "Yes that's right."

He turned and nodded almost to himself. "Then you shall get to know me and I will know more of you, we will….what was the word you used, date? We shall date."

She couldn't stop the smile that lit up her face, he looked so cute as he tried out the word and used it like a foreign language.

He tensed under her arms. "Is this not counted as being physical? Are you initiating sex?"

Her cheeks flamed as she pulled back, that was very blunt, "No that was me showing my gratitude, like a friend would."

They stared at each other for a while, a smile on her face and still a bit of confusion on his, before either could say anything. A door slightly down to their right opened and a red haired new species stepped out.

"Hey Jericho, is that the human? I just finished bringing her bags up and made sure everything is secure."


End file.
